EDITH GEORGE
Heritage Trees
About
Edith George
Edith George has been an Advisor to the non-profit the Ontario Urban Forest Council (est. 1963) for over ten years. She is a former Director of the Board of the Weston Historical Society. She is quick to admit her passion for heritage trees and travels the province of Ontario answering the questions, "What is a heritage tree?" and "Why should they be protected?". People come away from her presentation, looking at trees with a different viewpoint. She uses her neighbourhood’s great red oak and tells it’s story. She is an online columnist for Metroland Media Group. Her column is titled, “Natural Roots” and is about the various significant trees found in the city where she was born and lives - Toronto, Ontario.
“I am quick to admit my passion for heritage trees with an illustrated talk of five (5) varied venues to museums, churches, historical societies, high school students and even Royal Canadian Legions. I travel all over the Province of Ontario and answer the questions, “What is a heritage tree?” and “Why is it important to protect them?” using the Heritage Tree toolkit. There are several categories of requirements in determining whether a tree is worthy of heritage tree recognition and I touch on all of them in the presentation.As a former Director on the Board of the Weston Historical Society and presently an Advisor to the Ontario Urban Forest Council, my expertise is in the Social Category which includes historical and cultural significance. Using my neighbourhood’s great red oak as my example tree, I combine my passion of local history and conservation in a presentation titled, “Heritage Tree – Preserving Our Natural Roots. As more people learn about the importance of our natural roots, they’ll understand the need for identifying and preserving this special part of our history that is often overlooked and even taken for granted”.
